Public Safety Blotter: Oct. 30October 16 • At 2:14 a.m., police advised a driver in the Birch Street and Madsen Avenue area that the vehicle’s license plate was not illuminated. • At 2:27 p.m., police conducted a bar check downtown. • At 2:38 a.m., police conducted a security check downtown. • At 4:59 a.m., a caller reported a bear on Mozart Circle. It ran when it saw the patrol vehicle. • At 8:32 a.m., a man turned in a found baggie with what...

Stage and Screen: 'The Judge' — You be the juryStage and Screen By Bernie Karshmer Think of Robert Downey Jr. squaring off against Robert Duvall in a terse and intense courtroom drama — think of the film “The Judge” (2104). Downey plays Hank Palmer a win-it-at-any-cost big city lawyer. Duvall plays Joseph Palmer, a small-town judge who runs his courtroom with an iron hand and meets-out stern and unforgiving justice to the guilty who pass his way. Judge Palmer ...

Kodiak students make all-state band, choir and orchestraJust more than a dozen Kodiak music students made all-state band, choir or orchestra this year. Students from all around Alaska audition for all-state by submitting recordings of themselves singing or playing challenging pieces of music and demonstrations of musical techniques. “The string requirements are ridiculously hard,” said Walter Muelling, the director of orchestras at the Kodiak Island Borough School Dist...

Achievers: October Rotary students of the monthSixth grade Christian Germeille The sixth-grade teachers would like to honor Christian Ruddy Germeille with the Rotary award for outstanding character. Chris was born on March 4, 2002 in Boston, Mass., and lived in Miami and in Europe before coming to Kodiak. He lives with his parents, Fabi and Gedein Germeille, and his siblings, Qadir, Sydney and Lailah. Although Chris has only been in Kodiak for four months, he ...

Vote with the Bible as your guideWith the election coming up shortly, I wanted to write a letter to encourage fellow citizens to get out and vote. It is our right as citizens of America, and I personally believe our duty to get out and vote. Our system was designed that our government was “of the people, for the people and by the people,” so we play an important part in the process, even though sometimes it seems that the people we elect soon for...

Underneath the smiles, fancy galas and stereotypes, many Filipino-Americans are strugglingAlaska Gov. Sean Parnell officially declared October 2014 as Filipino-American History Month. As October comes to a close, one must ask: Who really are the Filipino-Americans — the group that composes half of the Asian/Pacific Islander population in Alaska? We seem to see them everywhere, right? They are our co-workers, our neighbors, our classmates, our friends and our family. We see them working in post offices,...

A “ghost” of activities for HalloweenHaunted houses, trick-or-treating and scariness galore are happening this weekend in a variety of events for everyone. The events kick off tonight with Haunted Haley, the annual spookiness aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley. It’s from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with a kid-friendly hour from 6 to 7. It is open to the public, but attendees must bring identification and drivers must have auto insurance in order to get ...

Public-safety groups warn about bear safety on HalloweenOrganizations associated with public safety and bears have issued a list of guidelines to have a bear-safe Halloween. The Kodiak Interagency Bear Safety Group’s guidelines are intended to keep kids and bears from scaring each other on dark evenings this weekend. The group’s guidelines: • Encourage participation in organized Halloween activities. • Trick-or-treat early and finish activities by 8 p.m. • Parents shou...

Girls looking to extend streak to eightDespite four swimmers suffering season-ending injuries, Kodiak’s girls are still in line to continue their regional dominance. Led by Ila Hughes and Tahna Lindquist — the two top swimmers in the state — the Bears will be gunning for their eighth consecutive team title when the Region III Swimming and Diving Championships begin at 1 p.m. Friday in Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula. Having Hughes and Lindquist is a lu...

Max, the Kodiak police dog, retires Max celebrated his retirement from the Kodiak Police Department with a rare treat — a brick of meatloaf and doggie ice cream. The 11-year-old Belgian Malinois slobbered up both of them like he had never had them before. “I kept him on a pretty rigid diet,” his handler, Sgt. Michael Barnett, said. Kodiak’s police dog the last seven and a half years was sent out in style with a retirement ceremony Monday afternoon a...